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Boys City League: Title drought finally ends for the 'House
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Members of the Westinghouse basketball program celebrate the Bulldogs' victory against Perry for the City League title at Obama Academy High School -- their first City League championship since 1998. -
Perry defenders swarm Westinghouse's DaSonte White. -
Members of the Westinghouse basketball program celebrate the Bulldogs' victory against Perry for the City League title at Obama Academy High School -- their first City League championship since 1998.
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Westinghouse had a misunderstanding and brought the wrong color uniforms to the City League championship game.
After the contest, Westinghouse opened a box of T-shirts on its bench that read "City League champions." These shirts were exactly right.
Westinghouse raised the City League championship trophy for the first time in the past 15 years after it defeated Perry, 61-52, in the title game Saturday at Obama Academy.
The 'House was rockin' after the game because it was Westinghouse's first City title since 1998. It is a big shot in the arm for a school that has fallen on hard times in sports over the past decade or so.
"This means a lot," said Westinghouse senior guard-forward Robert Bailey. "Not just to our team, but also to the community, to see that there is still Westinghouse basketball."
Tariq Francis, in his second season as Westinghouse's coach, said, "It's nice for these kids to see that success can come with some hard work."
Westinghouse (15-8) and Perry (12-13) split two earlier games. The difference in the rubber match was a kid who didn't play in the first two -- and Perry's poor shooting.
Westinghouse's Shaquan Johnson, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, had four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 20 points. He missed the first two Perry games. He was out of town for one and missed the team bus for another. Guard Aaron Lyons added 15 points and Bailey, who averages 19, had 10. Perry played a box-and-one on Bailey part of the game.
Westinghouse made eight 3-pointers. Perry made seven, but also attempted 34 3-pointers against Westinghouse's 2-3 matchup zone defense, including a number of contested, off-balance 3-pointers. Senior guard Shakeem Cox led Perry with 19 points, but he was 7 of 32 from the field, including 3 of 20 from 3-point range. Devin Lyles added 15.
"Our goal was to try to bang the ball inside," said Perry coach Marco Corona. "I think we got caught up a little too much in the emotion of the game. They made a lot of shots, and we forced a little too many."
Perry shot 28 percent (19 of 68) for the game.
"We just wanted to pack the defense in, close out on shooters and rebound the ball," Francis said. "If they can make 16, 17, 18 3-pointers in a game, then they deserve to win."
The score was tied, 27-27, at halftime, but Westinghouse went on a 17-5 run in the third quarter to take control.
Westinghouse's biggest lead was 55-40 with 4:55 left. Perry closed the gap to nine in the final minute.
"We just kept letting them shoot and let them shoot themselves out of the game," Bailey said.
First Published February 24, 2013 12:00 am
